It Takes a Village . . . to Hold a Wedding (AKA: Thank You!)

Mike and I returned home from our whirlwind wedding adventure to the States on Tuesday afternoon.  We unloaded our rental car but I resisted my obsessive compulsive habit of unpacking everything right away.  It wasn't because I was dead-dog tired, although that would have been applicable.  It wasn't because I had other important issues to contend with, such as lavishing the furry critter with love and attention.

I think my new mother-in-law said it best, "I hate the packing up after the event. It means it's over." To take all of our carefully crafted signs out of the wooden picture frames or cart the milk bottle vases back to the grocery store would be saying that the wedding is over. Complete. El Fin.

Photo Courtesy: Aly Shoji

It's approaching one week since I vowed to become Mike's wife, and I am still gushing about our trip to the altar. A smile lights up my face as I recall walking into the reception area to see 90 of our closets friends and family diving into pancakes smothered in goodies and Canadian maple syrup. I get a bit choked up at the thought of our five minute (it felt like 30) wedding ceremony.  And I can't help but laugh at the memory of all the kids on paddle boats in the middle of the lake.

As I stated before, there really are two things that make a wedding day: success and special.  At the end of Saturday, or rather before noon, I was able to call myself Mrs. Sachtjen.  That's success in my book and a huge check next to the "Get Married" item on our eight-month long wedding to-do list.

What made it special was all of the people who attended, helped or even supported our union from afar.  It's touching and a bit humbling to know the lives you have touched and those who want to be part of your next chapter.

Mike and I, the shy introverts we are, are not big on speeches. It took all we had to share our vows that morning.  However, there were several people that we needed to thank for it does take a lot of help, assistance and support from loved ones to pull off a successful and special wedding.

Photo Courtesy of Aly Shoji

That being said, here is a huge shout out to those who helped us on our wedding day. While listing their name doesn't do the following people justice as to how much they contributed to our "sweet start", we like to think of it as the credits at the end of a big production - they all played a vital role, no matter how small**:

• John and Cecelia Sachtjen
• Robert Sachtjen
• Charles and Judith Manlove
• Heidi Manlove
• Lisa Morrison
• Nancy and Lynn Hyslop
• Norma and Kevin Petty
• Mary and Ron Ferguson
• Dawn and Brian Vezzoso
• Aaron and Christin
• Georgie Holton
• Carin & Drew Lahr

And the numerous people who helped with clean up efforts, including the Shoji's (east and west), Ellen Sachtjen, Rich Peters and the Hyslops.

I would also like to offer a shout out to our vendors:

• Beth at It's All About You Catering
• Brianne and Tayler Gray at Still Water Hollow
• Annie at Let It Shine Photography
• Casse at Hampton Inn - Downtown Boise
• Norm and Lee Jensen at Black Canyon Gourmet Popcorn
• Kristin at Soda Pop Dresse Shoppe (Weegee's Wedding Dress)
• Serene at Stamp-Connection (our logo and rubber stamps for decorating)

And last, but not least, we wish to thank all of our family and friends who traveled near and far to witness our special day! We appreciate all that you did or sacrificed to make our wedding day special. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

** If I missed someone, please contact me. Even as I typed this I feel like I overlooked something. Any omission is absolutely accidental and I apologize ahead of time.